Rotavirus

The last 8 days have been a nightmare. Last Thursday, Porter started having diarrhea. Friday it was twice as bad, and by Saturday he was fully-full-on infected with rotavirus. I will try my best to spare the gory details, but let's just say there was more than enough poop and puke around here. The absolute worst thing ever is seeing your little tiny baby in pain and discomfort, and there is nothing you can do about it. It has definitely been one of the most emotionally and physically exhausting experiences I have been through. Craig was so helpful and always came running whenever I needed him. He definitely learned to jump quick when I yelled, "Honey, I need help NOW!" Our washer has been on overtime, and I am nervous to see our electric bill since everything had to be washed in hot water! I think Porter either pooped out or puked on 90% of the outfits he has worn in the last week. Thank goodness for Baby OxyClean! Not one outfit was stained!

We kept in constant contact with our new pediatrician, whom we LOVE. Her name is Dr. Chally, and she is wonderful. She seemed genuinely concerned about our little man's health and would talk to me about every last detail of his condition, which makes a mom feel good. We went to see her twice last week...Monday for a sinus infection for which he was put on antibiotics, and then six days later because he was in the middle of this virus and throwing up so much. In those six days, Porter lost 1 lb. 3.5 ounces, and he now weighs less than he did at 7 months. Dr. Chally was really upset by this (as was I, of course) and she had a hard time deciding whether to send us immediately to the ER. She knows my type-A personality, so she trusted me to give him 1 teaspoon of pedialyte every 5 minutes, because anything more than that was making him throw up. We had to watch him carefully for the next couple of days and we were given strict instructions on how much he should pee, etc. If he didn't do exactly what his little body needed to do, we were to go to the hospital. Thanks to many answered prayers, he began to improve that night.

He still isn't normal, a few diarrheas every day, but has improved SO much. He also hasn't eaten any solid food in a week. He is uninterested completely, so that will be something we have to re-teach him I think. Another huge hurdle has been his sleeping. He was sleeping through the night for about 2 weeks before he got sick, and now he is awful when it is time to sleep, day or night. He fights it so much, even if we are holding him he cries, and he wakes up immediately when I lay him down. This new pattern is so uncharacteristic for him, so it has been frustrating trying to figure out what to do for him to get him to go to sleep. Also, he has figured out how to stand up in his crib, but hasn't mastered the art of getting down, so that has added stress to the situation.

My heart aches for my sweet boy, and I have never been so relieved to see him feeling better. I would say he is at 85%, and we are really looking forward to having him back at 100%.

Many thanks to all of our friends and family who kept Porter in their prayers in the last week!